Live View allows teachers to see in real-time what students in their class are looking at. You can select any active student’s tile and Live View will automatically show you what’s happening on their active tab.Check with your school’s IT Support to see if Live View is compatible for your school’s configuration.
Live View Features
Important
If you see the message “Screenshots and Live view disabled for this site”, the website has been restricted from screen view.
Live View on Connect for Chrome and Companion Mode
In Classroom View, select a Student Tile with a Chrome device indicator. Live View will appear, displaying a range of available options:
Image 1: Live View of a student’s browser on a Chromebook device.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| D. Open in new tab | Open the student’s tab in your browser when you hover the mouse over the tab. |
| E. Open Site |
Open a website in another tab for the student. |
| F. Chat | Open a chat window to communicate with the student. |
| G. Create Rule |
Create a rule to immediately block and close the page you’re viewing for the student or the whole class. |
| H. Screenshot |
Download a screenshot of the current tab. |
| I. Full Screen | Displays the selected tab in full screen. |
| A. Follow active tab | Follow active tab is on by default to show you what the student is viewing in real-time. You can toggle off this feature and manually select other tabs to check. |
|
B. Active Tab |
The tab the student is currently looking at. |
| C. Background or Inactive Tab |
Select a Background tab to see what other websites a student has open in their browser. A Background tab only shows the screenshot of what the page looked like the last time the student was on the tab. Tip Toggle off Follow Active Tab when looking at Background tabs to stop Classwize from taking you back to the Active Tab. |
Live View on Connect for Windows and macOS
In Classroom View, select a student tile with a Windows or macOS device-type indicator. The Live View will appear with the following options:
Image 2: Live View of a student’s screen on a Windows device.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| A. Open Site |
Open a website in another tab for the student. |
| B. Chat | Open a chat window to communicate with the student. |
| C. Create Rule |
Create a rule to immediately block and close the page you’re viewing for the student or the whole class. |
| D. Screenshot |
Download a screenshot of the current tab. |
| E. Full Screen | Displays the selected tab in full screen. |
Using Live View features
Chrome and Companion Mode
How to view a student's Active Tab
The student’s active tab also shows the Active Tab indicator. When the student opens or goes to another tab, the indicator will appear on this new active tab. On Live View, the Follow active tab toggle is on by default, which means you will see in real-time which tab is currently active on the student’s screen.
Image 3: Student’s screen in Live View showing the Active Tab indicator while the Follow active tab feature is toggled on.
How to view a student's background tabs
From Live View
Select any tab that does not have the Active Tab indicator. Live View will display the background tab and toggle Follow active tab off. The Active Tab indicator will remain on the tab that the student is currently viewing.
Image 4: Student’s screen in Live View showing a background tab while the Follow active tab feature is toggled off.
From the student tile
Background tabs appear as underlined icons at the bottom of the student tile. The active tab is not underlined.
Image 5: Student tile showing background tabs.
When you select a background tab's icon from the student tile, the student's Live View will appear but the Follow active tab toggle will be switched off. The Active Tab indicator will remain on the tab the student is currently viewing.
How to open a student’s tab in your browser
You can open a student’s Chrome tab in your own browser. From Live View, hover on a tab title and the option to open the link on your browser will appear. Select the URL and the link will open in a new tab on your browser.
Image 6: Open a student’s tab on the teacher’s browser.
How to close a student's tab
To close a student’s tab, select the X on the tab that you want to close.
Image 7: Close a student’s tab from Live View.
The student will receive a notification that a tab was closed by the teacher.
Image 8: Tabs closed by your teacher message on a student’s screen.
How to use Chat within Live View
Tip
If you want to send a one-way message to a student, use the Message Student feature which you can access from the student tile.
Make sure that Chat is turned on for the session. To start a chat with a student on Live View:
- Select Chat. The Chat panel will appear on the right side of the screen.
- Enter your message, then either press Enter on your keyboard or select Send.
- The student will receive your chat message in a chat window, where they can also reply to you.
All device types
How to add a rule in Live View
- On Live View, select the tab or enter the website you want to create a new rule.
- Select Create Rule.
- The Add new rule dialog appears with pre-populated fields:
-
-
This rule controls - the top-level domain name or URL of the tab.
Tip
You can replace the top-level domain with the URL of the open tab. Hover over the tab, then right-click on the URL that appears. Select Copy Link Address or Copy Link As…, then select Create Rule. Paste the new URL on the This rule controls field and select Add Rule. - During class it should be - Blocked is preselected if the rule is currently allowed.
- This rule applies to - the name of the student is preselected. You can select the Whole class check box or more students by selecting their names in the dropdown list.
-
This rule controls - the top-level domain name or URL of the tab.
- Select Add Rule.
A notification that the tab was closed when it the teacher blocked it will appear on the student's screen.
How to save a Live View screenshot
Screenshot allows you to download a time-stamped screenshot of the student’s Live View in PDF. This feature is available for students using Chrome and Windows.
To save a Live View Screenshot:
- Select SCREENSHOT.
- Select Accept and download screenshot.
This prompt appears only once per day. - Save the file in your preferred folder.
Image 9: Download screenshot of a student’s screen from Live View.
Understanding the Live View screenshot
The downloaded Live View screenshot contains the following information:
- The name or email address of the student.
- The name of the School Manager device.
- The URL of the site or page the student was browsing (Chrome only).
- The screenshot of the student's screen (Windows or macOS) or browser (Chrome).
- Details of the screenshot, including the date and time it was taken, the student's device type and identifier, class name, and the teacher's email address.
- Details of the downloaded screenshot, which includes date and timestamp, and page number.
Image 10: Screenshot file of a student’s screen from Live View.
How to open a site from Live View
When you open a site, it becomes the active tab. Opening a site via Live View only opens the site for the student.
- Select Open Site.
- On the Open a site dialog, enter the website’s URL, then select Open Site.
- The website will open in a new tab as the Active Tab.
How to display Live View in full screen
To view a student’s tab in full screen, select Full Screen.
Image 11: Open Live View in Full Screen.
To exit Full Screen, hover over the top of the screen and then select the Exit Full Screen icon (two arrows) that appears on the top right.
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